Wednesday, October 31, 2012

J/80 North Americans Preview
(Fort Worth, Texas)- This coming weekend, the Fort Worth Boat Club will be hosting the J/80 North Americans on Eagle Mountain Lake form Oct 31st to Nov 4th. Thirty-one teams are expected to compete with an incredibly talented group of sailors participating, with multiple North American and World Champions represented. With a weather forecast that looks considerably better than the "Superstorm Sandy" the northeast had to contend with, it looks like sunny and southerly breezes will prevail until Saturday, then a chance of thunderstorms with partly cloudy skies Sunday. Nevertheless, since Eagle Mountain Lake is surrounded by rolling hillsides, the sailors will be tactically challenged all weekend to figure out which side of the lake to choose on each leg!

As a precursor for the J/80 NA's, the FWBC hosted the 38th "Old Man of the Sea Regatta" this past weekend- it was a great regatta warm-up for the up-coming J/80 North Americans. Many of the top teams were sailing for "Old Man of the Sea" honors. Fittingly, the Terry Flynn/ David Whelan team onboard QUANTUM RACING took the event with four 1sts in their 7 races (past J/80 North American Champions). Second were the renowned Forth Worth locals, Glenn Darden and Reese Hillard racing LE TIGRE just three points back (also World, North American and Key West Champions). Third was Jay Lutz from Houston, TX sailing FIRED UP (another World and Key West Champion). Fourth was Brian Keane from Marion, MA on SAVASANA fresh off his J/80 East Coast Champs effort in Annapolis (also a Key West Champion) along with Bruno Pasquinelli (a North American champion) on TIAMO in fifth. If you had to write a script as to which top five teams would be fighting it out for the top five spots at the J/80 North Americans on "home turf" on Eagle Mountain Lake, there you have it-- any one of them can win it!

Showing up for the event from other parts of the compass across America to give the "local cowboys" a "run-for-the-money" include top California team Curt Johnson sailing AVET from California YC; Kerry Klingler (a World and North American Champion) and Abuzeni Nizar sailing ARROW from Long Island Sound; the family team of Tom Klok, Will & Marie Crump sailing GULDFAXE from Annapolis, MD and Copenhagen, Denmark (SW NOOD Champions); class ring-leaders Kirsten & Brian Robinson with Tim Borland on the famous ANGRY CHAMELEON from Annapolis; and Chris Chadwick on CHURCH KEY also from Annapolis, amongst many others! For more J/80 North Americans sailing informationJ/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

This past weekend was a busy one worldwide, quite remarkable considering it's the weekend leading into Halloween and others had to contend with the aftermath of a dramatic storm known as "Sandy". For starters, our best wishes to those sailors and families who are contending with the issues of "Sandy" in the northeast of America. Over in the Mediterranean a small cadre of J sailors were competing in the famous Rolex Middle Sea Race in remarkably challenging conditions over a 600nm+ course, included amongst the fleet were two J/122s, a J/111 and J/133. Up north of them were a group of J/80 sailors competing for their Italian J/80 Nationals in Chiavari, Italy. Further west, the Garmin Hamble Winter Series and the One-Design Regatta were continuing in some tough conditions for J/111s, J/80s, J/109s and others. In the Far East in Asia, a J/109 was continuing to improve their performance overall in the International China Cup Regatta held off Hong Kong, China and its gorgeous surrounding islands. Back across the pond in the Americas, the J/24s held their Hillman Capital J/24 East Coast Championships in Annapolis, MD at Eastport YC. Concurrently, the Annapolis area also held the IRC East Coast Championships and the J/109 One-Design East Coast Championships. Further south, Houston's Lakewood YC held their famous Harvest Moon Regatta that included several J sailors, including a well-sailed J/120 that has made it a tradition for years.

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it orupload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.J/122 ARTIE RTFX Wins Middle Sea Race
(Gzira, Malta)- For the second year in a row, the Maltese family-powered J/122 ARTIE RTFX managed to win IRC Class 3 in this year's Rolex Middle Sea Race over some of their arch rivals to yet again establish their claim to Mediterranean offshore sailing supremacy! Hoping to repeat their extraordinary performance winning last year's race overall, the crafty team of Lee Satariano and Christian Ripard led their J/122 team again to the head of the fleet overall for a brief period of time after rounding Sicily! However, that excitement was fleeting at best once the light, variable winds kicked in the for the whole fleet.

This year's race was characterized by an exasperating search for a fickle breeze that tested crews’ resolve, patience and determination. This was not split second, "thrust and parry" racing but rather tactically strenuous, mentally arduous sailing with concentration and team spirit at the fore for long, long periods of time.

A record-breaking 83 international entrants from 20 countries took part over the 606 nm course that takes the fleet around Sicily and a series of islands in the middle of the Mediterranean, starting and finishing in Malta. One of the main challenges faced by all teams was managing supplies. "We’re not expecting to see winds above 10-12 knots so we aimed to be as light as possible. We go through sails, spares, food and whatever we can to remove a few key kilos," said Rán 2 team manager Tim Powell. Supplies onboard the majority of the Corinthian crews – more readily braced for a week at sea and less concerned about carrying extra weight –lasted a while longer. Many enjoyed the slow but stunningly scenic passage around Stromboli with a hearty meal. For these teams, the increasing challenge in the final few days was fatigue.

"It was very tactical. The crew worked round the clock. The boat was pushed to its optimum throughout," explained Lee Satariano, co-skipper of the defending champion and the fastest Maltese finisher Artie. "This race was mentally tiring with constant sail changes, it didn’t let up," added co-skipper Christian Ripard.

Such fighting spirit was typical of a contest that may have been light on drama but was never richer in human spirit. "This is always a difficult race. Every leg brought something new," explained one skipper. "The goal was to have a good time and get round." A sentiment echoed by the entire fleet.

The fleet enjoyed champagne sailing conditions on the first day; a brisk south easterly breeze propelled the fleet across the open sea to Sicily and towards the Strait of Messina. However as the wind faded on the first night, a tactically challenging and meteorologically intriguing Rolex Middle Sea Race was developing. Last year’s champions, Lee & Christian’s all-Malta crew on ARTIE RTFX were leading after time correction. ARTIE RTFX rode a favourable current through the narrow gap between Sicily and the Italian main land as the leading yachts came into a grinding halt as the wind died close to Stromboli.

This was the first of many ‘re-starts’ in the race, as a high-pressure system settled over Sicily and periods of calm weather enveloped the course. Meanwhile the rest of the fleet were desperately seeking breeze to make Favignana, the northwest corner of the race course. This became a crucial part of the race, as fresh northwesterly winds would be the prize. So far, the weather had favored the smaller yachts but only the Class 1 and Class 2 yachts were to make Favigana before the wind totally shut down. The race had turned into ‘big boat race’, especially favoring the Class 2 yachts.

On the morning of Day Two, the battle for class honours and the overall crown was totally undecided, the majority of the fleet were trapped in whispers of wind trying to reach the fresh breeze to the west of Sicily.

By Day Three, ARTIE RTFX could only watch as their dream of winning for the second year running were fading fast.

In the early hours of Day Six, ARTIE RTFX became the first Maltese boat to cross the finish line and win Class 4. Co-skipper, Christian Ripard, spoke dockside: “We did our best, it was a great race and everybody did a great job working really hard but we just kept on getting stuck in patches of no wind, which was very frustrating. This race took a whole day longer than last year and it was really tiring mentally, you were always looking for the way out; you could never relax.”

Artie RTFX was under considerable pressure to be the first Maltese boat home. Jonas Diamantino & Ramon Sant Hill’s ILC40, Comanche Raider 2 Gasanmamo pushed them all the way to the finish, as Christian Ripard explains.

"Comanche caught up about 20 miles on us, I was anxious watching them close the gap on us but in a way that was fantastic. There are a lot of good people doing the race this year. All of the crew on Artie are amateurs but they are top class sailors, we have had more or less the same crew for the last three races. I am the old man on the boat but they really know what they are doing and they keep me young! Many of them are dinghy champions that have got into keelboat racing and they are the future of yachting in Malta and the Rolex Middle Sea Race is a major occasion in our country and a fantastic showcase for our sport.”

The Grand Prize Giving for the 33rd Rolex Middle Sea Race took place at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. Guest of Honour, Tourism Minister Mario de Marco, described the Rolex Middle Sea Race as the most prestigious international event in Malta. A packed house applauded each prize winner with great enthusiasm. Lee Satariano & Christian Ripard’s J/122 ARTIE RTFX were awarded The Transport of Malta prize for the top performing Maltese yacht and the award for the best performance by a three boat international team was awarded to Malta taking into account the performance of ARTIE RTFX, Comanche Raider II Gasanmamo and XP-ACT. This is an astounding achievement considering that 19 countries were represented in the race but only six of the record 83 entries were from Malta. Plus, ARTIE RTFX finished 5th overall in what was purported to be a "big boat" race, beating in fact Nikolas Zenstrom's highly-professional team on the JV 72 RAN.

For much of the race, ARTIE was being pushed hard by their J sailing colleagues, the J/122 OTRA VEZ sailed by another Maltese team, the Florida family, the J/111 STORM and the J/133 OILTANKING JUNO. In the end, the J/133 finished 6th in IRC Class 3. The two stablemates in Class 4 for ARTIE sailed very well, with the J/111 J/STORM from Italy finishing 9th and narrowly beating out the Floridia family from Malta on their J/122 OTRA VEZ finishing 10th.

For a perspective on what it takes to compete in this famous race, Aaron Gatt Florida sailing on the J/122 OTRA VEZ had the following commentary prior to the start of this year's race:

"After last year's result in the RMSR we wanted to spend 2012 getting to know the boat better and pushing our performance. In June 2012 we took OTRA VEZ to the South of France and participated in the Giraglia Rolex Cup. This was an excellent regatta and we achieved a very respectable result considering the conditions this year. More importantly it was an excellent training camp for us and we learned a lot about the boat. We have made quite a few upgrades to the boat this year too - a new jib top which is essential for long distance racing, instrumentation upgrades, more efficient running rigging layout, etc.

Right now OV is in Malta. Preparations are in full swing and we are having the bottom redone to a racing finish in time for the race. Crew core is the same as last year with a couple of newcomers. We're excited and looking forward to the start! It's still a bit early to get a clear picture of what the conditions will be like. The weather in the Med can be very unstable at this time of the year and forecasts change quickly." Indeed, it was. And it's a tribute to the Floridia's and their Maltese team-mates to have fought valiantly to secure a respectable class finish in one of the toughest Middle Sea races in years. For more Rolex Middle Sea Race sailing informationHealy Wins J/24 East Coast Champs
(Annapolis, MD)- The Hillman Capital Management J/24 East Coast Championships hosted by the Severn Sailing Association (SSA) is held in the fall around Halloween and has the reputation of providing big breezes with cool temperatures, three days of competitive racing, and a great party. The 34th edition of this fall classic, however, featured mild temperatures, a shifty breeze that ranged between only 5 and 15 knots, and the impending arrival of Hurricane Sandy for the incredibly talented forty boat fleet.

With the final day of racing cancelled, the highly experienced SSA Race Committee successfully set off seven races, and it was enough to crown Tim Healy and his 11th HOUR RACING crew as this year's J/24 East Coast Champion. Having just placed 2nd at this year's J/24 World Championships in Rochester, NY, the former World Champion quickly established his skillful management of the shifting conditions. Healy left no doubt as the top competitor of the event, having no finishes worse than 4th place in a fleet of 34 boats.

Healey's record for the seven races was impressive enough, scoring one 1st, five 2nds and a 4th for a total of only 15 pts, well clear of his next competitors by 24 pts. Second was Mark Hillman's team (the title sponsor of the event), starting out slow but coming on strong for the rest of the event, gathering finishes of 14-1-6-6-3-1-8 for 39 pts. There was quite a battle for third place overall with Rossi Milev sailing CLEAR AIR for Port Credit YC, Ontario, the top Canadian boat, narrowly defeating the next competitors. Rossi's team amassed a 5-15-4-5-1-4-10 for 44 pts. Fourth was the HONEY BADGER team with a score of 21-4-1-2-9-3-7 for 47 pts and fifth was Will Welles on ANGRY DRAGON with scores of 6-9-8-1-7-7-12 for 50 pts.

Once again, SSA was able to accommodate everyone even while undergoing a major renovation of the clubhouse. After each day of racing, sailors were met at the docks by fleet volunteers with smiling faces and trays full of Copperhead Ale and Bud Light. There was also an unlimited supply of Dark and Stormys at the tent party to satisfy even the thirstiest sailor.

The event also treated racers to a traditional Maryland crab soup and a fresh oyster bar, which featured the two‐time U.S. National Oyster Shucking Champion, George "The Oyster Guy" Hastings. Besides the epic games of flip cup and corn hole, the tent party was highlighted by the event raffle that gave away over 50 items and featured a new J/24 Quantum mainsail won by Peter Bream.

Plans are already under way for next year's event and it promises to be even bigger and better. Come on out if you've never been to the East Coast Championships or haven't been in a while. You won't want to miss out on one of the most premier sailing events on the East Coast. Sailing photo credits- Dan Phelps/ SpinSheet.com For more J/24 East Coasts sailing informationJ.A.T. Wins J/80 Hamble One-DesignsJ/122 JOULOU, J/109 J'TAIME, J/111 JET Lead Hamble Winter Series
(Hamble, England)- Winter finally showed its ugly, nasty teeth to the Garmin Hamble Winter Series and Lewmar Hamble One Design Championships over the past weekend, to mark the halfway point of the series. While nothing like what their American colonialist counterparts had to survive with an even nastier gal named "Sandy", the gangsters sailing around the Solent certainly had their fair share of bad stuff to contend with for weather.

Saturday was the first day of the final weekend of the Lewmar Hamble One Design Championships. But a ferocious forecast and bitingly cold northerly wind put paid to the plans of the J/80 class, whose racing was cancelled. Only the J/109s ventured out for one race, before racing was called off for the day. One boat lost their rig, which broke above the top spreader, and another two boats had already retired. Steve Maine’s J2EAU won the race, around a minute ahead of JYNNAN TONNYX and YEOMAN OF WIGHT.

Hopes were high for better conditions on Sunday, with competitors enjoying an extra hour in bed as the clocks went back. Despite the cold morning, competitors were greeted by a much more civilized 11-18 knots from the west. The race team set each class two races from up to Hill Head for the smaller boats, and East Knoll for the bigger boats, to laid gate and leeward marks downwind. J/80s in the Lewmar Hamble One Design Championship fleet raced in the mouth of Southampton Water, sailing three races.

Lewmar Hamble One Design Championships
After the final three races of the two-weekend Lewmar Hamble One Design Championships on Sunday, Phil Taylor’s J.A.T won the J/80 class overall, three points clear of Jon Powell’s BETTY.

After the cancellation on Saturday losing 4 races, the final 3 races on Sunday were always going to set-up for a grand finale between the main protagonists at the top of the leader-board. 15 boats lined up just off from the Royal Southern race mark with a mixed forecast and strong tides set for the day.

Race 1 - saw Patrick Liardet 'Aqua-J' dominate from start to finish and the team of J.A.T for most of the race were not anywhere near the chocolates, getting the final mark with a strong tide proved the decider where Phil Taylor and Kevin Sproul's 'J.A.T' shot back up to 2nd place just beating John Powell's 'Betty'.

Race 2 - the J/80 class is always known for never backing down from a start, and on this occasion it was only a matter of time when the inevitable was going to happen. At 20 seconds (due to about 2 to 3 knots of tide taking the fleet over the line) to go pretty much the entire fleet where recalled and the the PRO decided to break out the Z-Flag... much talk went around the fleet as usually the black flag is usually pulled. 2nd time lucky and the fleet got away, from start to finish it was lead by the team of 'J.A.T' followed by the new Royal Southern YC Academy team 'Spitfire' in 2nd and 'Betty' in 3rd.

Race 3 - with everything still to play for and no outright winner just yet, race 3 was all about getting away at the start. Off the line 'J.A.T' got caught in the pack but the vast experience of the team shot them out towards the front of the fleet. The course now with very little tide was a game of getting the right shifts upwind and down and therefore the fleet remained incredibly tight. At the finish though it was Phil and Kevin's 'J.A.T' bringing the fleet home first with John Powell's 'Betty' snatching 2nd place from new UK Chairman Mark Baskerville's 'Mistral'.

So overall the team of 'J.A.T' won but it wasn't an easy task. The fleet would like to thank Hamble River SC for organising a great event and look forward to working with them in 2013 to develop this fantastic end of year championships.

The J/109s raced with the main Garmin Hamble Winter Series fleet. Christopher Palmer’s J-TAIME posted two firsts on Sunday, but this wasn’t enough to beat Owain Franks’ JYNNAX TONNYX, whose 2 second places on Sunday, was enough put them two points clear overall. In second is Richard & Valerie Griffith's OUTRAJEOUS with 25 pts. This is Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB a scant one point back with 26 pts in third. The balance of the top five is Steve Maine in J2EAU tied on points but in fourth on the tie-break with David Rolfe & Andy Johns' SHADOWFAX.

Garmin Hamble Winter Series
In the main series, the shifty, patchy breeze meant that large gains and losses were there for the taking, and in many classes the status quo was upset by some fantastic displays of tactical sailing. Andark was the day sponsor, and presented prizes to the winners in each class.

In IRC 0 Class, Ivan Trotman’s J/122 JOLOU posted two firsts to take them four points clear at the top of the class. Things were closer in the IRC 3 class with Nick & Adam Munday's J/97 INDULJENCE having an "off-weekend", scoring a 6-2 to drop back to second in class just two points off the pace for 1st overall with 11 pts.

In the one-designs, David and Kirsty Apthorp’s J-DREAM enjoyed similar success in the J/111 class taking two bullets for the weekend to be winning class with 10 pts. Second is Cornel Riklin's tough French crew onboard JITTERBUG with a 3-3 to keep 2nd place and third is Tony Mack's McFLY with 16 pts total.

For the J/109s, Paul Griffiths' JAGERBOMB is leading with 10 pts followed by Owain Franks' JYNNAN TONNYX in second with 14 pts and David McLeman's OFFBEAT in third with 18 pts.

Next week, there’s a break in the series, before it resumes on the 11th November. The next four weeks have one race per day to get competitors in before the light fades. Enjoy the break and see you in a fortnight! For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing informationJ/109 VENTO SOLARE Wins STC One-Design
(Annapolis, MD)- The Storm Trysail Club hosted their IRC East Coast Championship and One-Design Regatta this past weekend in Annapolis on the Chesapeake Bay. Sailing were a combination of one-design fleets and IRC fleets. In the IRC 2 Class were two J/111s sailing. The J/109s sailed as a one-design class.

The five race series started with Friday’s 29.6-­‐mile tour of the central Chesapeake, with a light and shifty northeast breeze in the 1.5 point-­weighted race. The remaining four inshore races of the series were sailed on Saturday in a format shortened by the approach of Hurricane Sandy to the mid-­Atlantic states, with organizers giving teams today to prepare for the hurricane-­force winds predicted for the area Monday and Tuesday. The 13-­17 knot northeasterly conditions sailed against an ebb tide on Saturday tended to favor the bigger boats until the ebb turned to slack in the last race. This made the beats shorter and high-­speed runs longer, compressing the corrected times down to margins of mere seconds.

In IRC 2 Class, the two J/111s had some great racing against one another with new J/111 owner Kjell Dahlen sailing his newly acquired RAGIN to 3rd overall and 1st 111. Marty Roesch's team on VELOCITY had their hands full with RAGIN's new team and managed to finish off the series with a flourish of 3-3 to finish just behind her classmate.

Paul Milo's J/109 VENTO SOLARE perhaps sailed one of the toughest, and best, series in the regatta. Why? Imagine having multiple J/109 champion sailor Bill Sweetser on RUSH to beat to the finish line. In the end, it was the first race (the long distance race) that mattered in the final count. By winning the first race, Paul's VENTO SOLARE team managed to compile a score of 1.5-4-2-1-1- for 9.5 points to win by a half point! Bill's tough RUSH team sailed very consistently and scored 3-1-1-2-3 for 10 pts to take the silver. Third was Stephen McManus's team on SAYKADOO. For more IRC East Coast sailing informationJ/Teams Enjoy Fast, Beautiful Harvest Moon!
(Houston, Texas)- The Lakewood YC on Galveston Bay hosted yet another "most excellent" Harvest Moon Regatta over the October 25th to 27th weekend. Started in 1987, the event was based on the desire to have some good fall sailing before the winter Northers started blowing cold and hard across Texas; “an all sailors from the Bay area event” to accommodate as many sailors as possible for late fall offshore sailing. The boats gather together near the Galveston Bay jetties and sail to Port Aransas under a magnificent full moon each October. This ideal Texas port allows yacht owners and sailors to use minimal days from work to join in on what can be a most memorable overnight sail down the Texas coast during traditionally the best offshore sailing time of the year.

This year 210 boats participated with over a dozen J/Teams sailing in the PHRF Bacardi Racing fleet. Finishing in 4th was the J/105 HORNY TOAD sailed by Greg Turman. Fifth was the J/120 AEOLUS sailed by Jim Liston from Houston YC. Seventh was Dave Christensen's J/109 AIRBORNE. And, rounding out the top 10 was Albrecht Goethe's J/109 HAMBURG.

Keith Magnussen who sailed aboard the J/120 AEOLUS had the following report: "It seems like this has been the year of the “J” boat for me. After putting well over 2,000 nautical miles on a J-125 on the West Coast, I made my annual trip to the Gulf Coast of Texas. The annual Harvest Moon Regatta on James Linton’s J-120 AEOLUS was next up on my calendar. This was to be the third year doing the race for me and we were really hoping to improve on our second place finish (third overall) in last years event.

The wind forecast was light and on the nose for the first few hours with a slight shift to the southeast coming later in the day. We started well and extended out in front of the other boats with the exception of the Melges 30 and the Santa Cruz 50. Our new Carbon 155% Genoa gave us the power we needed to keep the 120 moving in the light stuff and in touch with both of the mentioned boats that were just in front of us. We had some difficulty navigating through the slower non-spinnaker boats but eventually made it through and were now eagerly anticipating the shift. This shift finally came in the late afternoon and we immediately hoisted our Code 0 and were now plugging along just shy of wind speed. The J-120 sails great with a Code 0 and we started to extend on the boats around us. We managed to pull some important distance on the J-44 who took up a little higher course than us and managed to overtake after a few hours of close-hauled genoa sailing. Once the Code 0 went up this all changed.

We spent most of the night dodging unlit oil platforms that litter the Gulf Coast. Weather was warm and the sky was lit with stars and a beautiful moon that helped shine some light on a racecourse that was not easy to navigate. As the night wore on the wind died, which was expected, we found ourselves with the genoa back up. This is not optimal for the 120 and I knew the Melges 30 was winning out in these conditions.

As daylight approached we could see the front coming towards us and knew the big shift and more wind was close. What I don’t think we anticipated was how much wind we would see. At right around 6am we tacked onto starboard as the cloud and front were now directly above us. I heard Steve Lemay call for the tack and I came up on deck and grabbed the mainsheet. Just as this happened the puff came on and we started easing as the boat started moving. In a matter of 5 minutes it was blowing 18… GAME ON!

We jib reached for a bit as the wind settled down and soon we were looking at 25+kts of breeze and a 120 TWA. Now this is what a J-120 is made for and this is where it gets good. I demand the 3A on deck and after some convincing (border-line arguing) with the owner I got my way. 3A up and we were launched! Now I am used to driving a J-125 in this so I was not expecting too much in the way of speed. I seriously underestimated the power of the 120 and was having a blast driving down waves.

The wind kept increasing and we were now seeing steady high 20’s with puffs of 30. The boat was a dream to sail and the 3A allowed us to go as low as 150 TWA without it hiding behind the main and collapsing. This spinnaker kept the boat tracking and was easy to drive with. We were on the rail now and headed right at the Port Aransas turning buoy that would put us into the ship channel and a small upwind leg to the finish. I started to push the boat and was soon seeing constant 15’s and a top speed of 18.9. The boat was sustaining 17’s for extended periods of times and we were never out of control. I stayed on the helm for the last 40 miles and the crew worked their butts off to keep us moving as fast as possible. The J-44 was now out of sight and it was a race against time.

We rounded the buoy with the #3 up and made our way to a late morning finish only about 30 minutes behind the SC-50… not bad! Port Aransas is a unique little town and has something to offer in the way of seafood and Bud Light. It was now a waiting game as we sucked back a few cold ones. Much to my chagrin I looked up 45 minutes later to see a Hobie 33 come cruising into the harbor. The Hobie 33 in Texas rates 96!!!! That might be a little friendly but they did end up overall winners even though they never even hoisted a spinnaker!

When results were posted we found out we finished second in class only to lose out to another J-Boat… a J-105! This was my third year doing the race and it has been getting better and better. The unpredictable wind and drag race down the coast makes for some serious fun!

Check out the short video here of us cruising with the 3A up. This is after the big puffs but we are still rocking it!

To get a better idea of what it's like to sail the Harvest Moon race, please take a look the Liston's documentary sailing video on their J/120 AEOULIS in last year's event where they finished 2nd in class and 2nd overall. For more Harvest Moon regatta sailing informationJ/109 Prevails In China Cup
(Hong Kong, China)- The Royal Hong Kong YC's season long offshore series of races includes many challenges for its sailors around the archipelago of southern China. The China Cup International Regatta is a series of both inshore and short offshore races in and around the island of Hong Kong. The event not only promotes the sailing culture & sailing sports among the masses in China, but the Marine Culture Development Forum gathers influential people from the marine industry all over the world to share their achievements and experience.

The sailing itself can be quite challenging, especially the first race. The 34-miles of the Simpson Passage Race kept competitors working hard until the very finish, on day one of the China Cup. After the skippers’ briefing at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, the competitors in the 91 teams expected moderate to strong winds during the race from Hong Kong to Shenzhen in mainland China. And while those winds did materialize, the race had a strange and unexpected sting in its tail. After the IRC division start, the wind was gusting up to 18 knots although there were big shifts and holes in the breeze, and a large swell that saw the boats slamming into waves on port tack. Light airs characterized the near windless final few miles of the course with some boats failing to make it through the finish before the wind shut down again, giving them an early evening drift into the harbour.

The four days of windward-leeward races and the Audi Around the Island Race brought every kind of wind, from the strong start and drifting finish of the Simpson Marine Passage Race on day one, to the high-speed excitement of day 3, when masts broke and boats ran aground. Although more than 130 boats wanted to enter this year’s regatta, space restrictions in the marina kept entries to just 91. From a standing start five years ago, the China Cup International Regatta is really beginning to make its mark, not just in Asia but throughout the sailing community around the world.

The J/109 WHISKEY JACK sailed by Nick Southward from Royal Hong Kong YC sailed one of their best series yet in this Asian offshore series. Nick's team overcame multiple obstacles, including capricious sailing conditions, to finish second in IRC 3 Class with a consistent score of 2-5-2-2-8-3-4-4- for a net score of 22 pts.

A special note- "congratulations" also go out to J/133 owner Rick Pointon and crew from Hong Kong for their performance in the China Cup Championship sailed in old-fashioned 40 ft sloops. Instead of sailing their beautiful, fast J/133 with their famous yellow jerseys, they elected to take a shot at one-design racing and finished 2nd overall to a past 470 World Champion! Sailing photo credits- Stefano Gattini/Studio Borlenghi For more China Cup International Regatta sailing resultsJ/Community

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* Report from Hong Kong! Dan Tullberg from J/Boats Hong Kong provided us the following exciting update from recent activities taking place in the Hong Kong/ Asian sailing world:

"For starters, we're please to announce that we have two J/70s confirmed arriving from France, and two serious contenders for the J/111 who want to (a) kick the tires on the first one arriving here mid-Nov and (b) hope to find moorings as the whole mooring market here is absolutely packed right now! Sailing continues to grow in popularity here in Asia!

An upcoming report will be sent on the recently held International Police Worlds (13 x J/80s) and an announcement on the first formal Hong Kong-China inter-port regatta (again the J/80s) to run in Feb 2013. Also, the J/80 Class Hong Kong Championships are next weekend (3-4th Nov) off Lamma Island south of Hong Kong with 15-18 boats in what looks like a breezy weekend.

The J/80 HKG Class Association is still the only "national" class in Hong Kong that spans the interest of all three main yacht clubs here and owners take pride in that: a few weeks ago the Royal Hong Kong YC ran a "Championship Of Champions" event on J/80s between 9 different classes that was very well received by all:

1) the organizer RHKYC only had 3 of the required 6 boats available since much of the fleet was damaged in the typhoon this summer and still under repair. Three private owners offered their boats for use at this event unreservedly to make the event happen (a combination of fleet and match racing)

2) J/80 owners Andrew Moore / Nigel Welch (TIGRINA) and Jonny Hodgson (J-QI) came second and third respectively in that event, beating all but one stellar Etchells team."

A "BIG THANKS" to Dan, Joey and crew in Hong Kong for their excellent efforts in growing the J/One-design classes as well as building interest in the J/111. We guess that a J/111 will have great fun sailing the Asian Offshore circuit!

* J/111 BLUR 2012 Season Wrap-up Sailing video- (Marstrand, Sweden)- Peter Gustafsson reports that he and his crew on the J/111 BLUR have had a fantastic time sailing their J/111 this past summer in the Scandinavian Offshore sailing circuit. Peter recently compiled video clips from their first season with the J/111. The clips are from the following regattas/ sailing events- Spi Ouest, Stora Oset Race, Pater Noster Race, Færderseilasen, Marstrand Big Boat Race, ÅF Offshore Race, Hermanö Runt, Tjörn Runt and Sista Chansen. The video has "New Order's" song "Blue Monday" as the background music-- sweet! Enjoy watching the J/111 BLUR 2012 Season wrap-up!

* J/80 sailing Hawaii offshore! Bob Stephenson says "Aloha to all J/sailors, and especially J/80 sailors, from around the world. We've been having a lot of great J/80 racing here in Hawaii.

ALOHA LANI sailed by Ryan McCrillis won the second J/80 Hawaiian Championships in Lahiana (and Class B in the Lahiana Lights). CRUSADER skippered by me got second and hometown favorite BOONDOGGLE sailed by Bruce Olsten was third.

Two days later, CRUSADER took second in class B, 5th overall in the Lahiana to Honolulu Race. Conditions were "epic", with both boats seeing speeds in the high teens most of the day.

More to follow, but here's a sailing photo of Connor McCrillis sailing in his first ocean race on ALOHA LANI." We look forward to getting you some more in the coming weekends!

* J/24 Coronado "Reality Sailing" In California
(San Diego, CA)- Manuel Morenos has been working with friends to create a unique new sailing, adventure and experiential organization called "Reality Sailing Adventure org". Says Manuel, "Our group is embarking on an ambitious project and we need all the help we can get. We have a dream of creating what we call the first bi-national sailing campus. A campus which will have a variety of activities ranging from sailing instruction, adventure sailing voyages and a place for university students geared to marine biology and the research for cleaner technologies perform their studies. The development of this institution has given us the opportunity to reach to world leader in the nautical industry, and to sailing, research and governmental institutions in both the US and Mexico, generating an all around positive program.

Our organization’s concept is simple, positive, and sustainable. Sailing is synonymous with a healthy environment. Don’t we all disapprove oils spills, pollution, punctured atmospheric layers created by carbonic emissions? Yes, we have to stop depending so much on this non-renewable fuel which is only damaging us. Sailing in the other hand utilizes the wind, currents, weather patterns and even solar energy to move from point A to B causing less harm to biospheres and so to the planet. Sailing also provides a great quiet pleasurable travel, at the same time promoting healthy life styles and good economies around it.

Help us create consciousness in the preservation of the magical waters of the Sea of Cortés and at the same time have fun doing it. Our developing organization is composed to the most part of sailors and a group of visionaries looking forward to create an innovative program. Additionally, we would like to offer more opportunities for American cruisers to safely and responsibly sail this part of the world.

Part of our program is geared to connect the youth interested in sailing with other sailing schools, yacht clubs and he sport of sailing itself. This involvement game the opportunity to help direct a junior sailing in San Diego, CA for CVYC. By this community outreach program the Coronado Yacht Club offered a sailing class to (3) of my top sailing students. Opportunity which gave us the chance to meet former national champion in this class, you might remember Jon Rogers. He currently teaches sailing at the Coronado yacht Club.

Rogers who previously worked as an instructor for a J-World school in Newport, RI conducted one of the most educational and exciting class the kids and myself included ever had aboard a nice J-24 race sailboat. He gave the juniors the ins and out of this magnificent racing vessel. That confirmed what lots of people say about J boats, “They’re fast”. Jon is a great guy and outstanding sailing instructor. We all enjoyed the class and hopefully in the near future we could have the opportunity to have one of this fast racing vessels in our fleet too." For more information on Reality Sailing OrgThe J Cruising Community J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/

* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years. Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker. The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com. Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin." UPDATE- Just a short note to update from Bill- "Our cruise began in May of 2000 and ended in May of 2008, some 8 years later. I have just finished and published my third and final book covering the last three or so years including our double handed crossing in 16 days and one winter in the Caribbean. Like the others, "Sea Trek- A Passion for sailing- Book III," can be found at www.blurb.com. Thanks, Bill and Judy"

* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).

- SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com).

- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".

- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.

* The J/109 GAIA (seen right in the Java Sea) was sailed by Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay around the world. In February 2011, their cruising adventures came to an abrupt, sad ending. As a tribute to them and their cruising friends worldwide, we hope their chronicles on their GAIA website remains a tribute to their warm-hearted spirits- read more about why many loved them dearly and will remain touched by their loving spirit forever-http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

J/97 Eclipses Long Island Sound Sailing Circuit
(Rye, New York)- The first of the new J/97s arrived this summer to race on the Long Island Sound sailing circuit. After several events, the J/97 proved herself capable to deliver on the promise of a fun, fast, family-friendly cruiser racer-- equally adept at handling the demanding needs of the family weekender as well as being competitive offshore.

The J/97 has proven itself in Europe having won IRC class in SPI OUEST France off La Trinite sur Mer, France; Scottish Race Week off Tarbert, Scotland; Cowes Sailing Week off Cowes, Isle of Wight, England; both Hamble Winter Series and Warsash Spring Series on the Solent, England; as well as countless offshore races during the RORC sailing season. Like her counterparts in Europe, the J/97 on Long Island Sound has demonstrated she is quite capable of winning PHRF Handicap as well.

For an appointment to see the new J/97 in Annapolis, MD, please be sure to contact Ken Comerford at North Point Yacht Sales at ph- 410-280-2138 or email- ken@northpointyachtsales.com For more J/97 family cruiser racer sailing informationNewport Harbor "Try A J/70"!
(Newport Beach, CA)- JK3 Yachts is proud to present the new J/70 to greater Los Angeles Basin sailors down in Newport Beach this coming weekend! JK3 Yachts will be providing a boat to Newport Harbor YC for a "J/70 Day" on Saturday, October 27th, and will be on site to answer any questions and take members and their guests on test sails throughout the day. Please be sure to make an appointment to schedule your test sail by contacting Joanne at J/Concierge- joanne@jk3yachts.com. For more information on sailing the J/70 at Newport Harbor YCBenelux "Try A J" Sailing Day!Twin J/70s Featured with Five Other Big J's
(Port Zelande, Netherlands)- J/Benelux will have the annual “Try a J” demo sailing day on Saturday 27th October in Marina Port Zelande in Ouddorp, The Netherlands. Featured at this sailing event will be twin brand-new J/70s along with the International J/80, the J/108 shoal-draft performance cruiser, the J/109 one-design cruiser racer, the J/111 offshore one-design speedster and the J/122 offshore cruiser racer. Of note, you will get to experience the J/70 as a European Yacht of the Year Overall Nominee for 2012/ 2013!

To schedule a demo, please be sure to go to www.jboats.nl for registration. You may also contact Robin or Angelique Verhoef at email- "info@jboats.nl" or telephone- +31 (0)78 6305505.Get Ready For Sailing Key West!Calling All J/70, J/80, J/105 & J/PHRF Teams!
(Key West, FL)- The 25th Anniversary edition of Key West Race Week was by all accounts a great success and your Key West hosts are looking forward to building on the enthusiasm that was generated last year and delivering another memorable Key West Race Week 2013 for the one-design J/80 and J/105 classes, for the popular J/PHRF class and for the new J/70 class! The competition is world-class and the evening socials at the Kelly’s Caribbean shoreside venue have proven to be very popular for skippers and crews.

For the 26th edition of this winter classic, ten races over five days are planned for J/One-Design classes and the J/PHRF classes. A Key West hallmark has been strong class racing and we are hoping to grow those fleets that have supported Key West for years. Positive news from all four J/Classes point to another year featuring great competition- so far 35 J's are signed up, about 42% of the 84 boats planning to participate already. Come one, come all, let's make J's 50% of the fleet! The more the merrier!

For J/105s, the big news is that one of the class's newest owners, Dennis Conner (recently honored as "America's Greatest Sailor" by Sailing World Magazine) will be sailing USA 3- DC's PHOLLY, one of the oldest J/105s in existence. DC just finished sailing the J/105 SoCal Championships and the J/105 North American Championships in San Diego and has proven to be a competitive J/105 sailor-- DC and crew are looking forward to sailing Key West and invite all J/105 sailors to join them for some "phun and phrolic with PHOLLY!" To date, Damien Emery's champion ECLIPSE from New York has taken up the invitation as has Bennet Greenwald's PERSEVERANCE traveling cross-country like DC from San Diego, California! What an opportunity to say you "crossed-tacks with DC (the America's Cup most famous sailor) and lived to tell the story"! Join DC and crew for the J/105 2013 Midwinter Championship!

The J/80s have a quartet from Annapolis showing up with Kristen Beery, Bert Carp, Jeff Jordan's WILLY T and J-World's ANIMAL HOUSE looking forward to some rocking & rolling in the crystal blue-waters off Key West. Joining them are Gary Panariello's COURAGEOUS from New York and Ron Buzil's VAYU 2 from Chicago, Illinois. The J/80s will again be hosting their 2013 J/80 Midwinter Championship in conjunction with the Key West regatta-- it's a great way to have "your cake & eat it, too"! Win class prizes, daily fleet prizes, door prizes and take a well-deserved break from the freezing grip of winter to work on that tan and catch up with sailing friends from around the world!

The J/70s debuts at Key West 2013 for its first J/70 Midwinter Championship on a special circle just west of Sunset Key (Tank Island), past the NW Passage. The racing promises to be fun, fast and challenging for what may be the first time many of the teams will be racing one-design. So far, with 18 boats registered and over 30 expected to participate the fleet is beginning to look like a "Woodstock" sailing festival with many legendary J/Sailors from the past participating as well as some of the latest rockstars. Known participants include Mark Ploch (winner of first J/24 Midwinters in 1978), David Ullman, Don Trask, Tim Healy, Rod/Jeff Johnstone, Heather Gregg-Earl, Don Finkle, Jimmie Allsopp & son Cole, Kerry Klingler/ Rick Lyall, Henry Brauer/ Will Welles, Mike Sudofsky, John Gottwald, Bruno Pasquinelli, Chris Snow and Blake Kimbrough, amongst many others.

Finally, the J/PHRF Time-on-time handicap class is shaping up to be yet another great fleet of boats. Last year, past winners Bill Sweetser on the J/109 RUSH and Robin Team on the J/122 TEAMWORK both said it was some of the best handicap racing they've ever sailed at Key West. WIth Rod J handling the PHRF TOT handicaps, the racing was fair, fun and extremely competitive with the outcome of the entire week coming down to the last race. This year promises to be just as much fun. So far, two top J/109s are sailing, Sweetser's RUSH and Gary Wesiberg's HEAT WAVE; four J/111s are expected to sail including Doug Curtiss' WICKED 2.0 and class newcomer Bob Hese's LAKE EFFECT from Youngstown, NY. Also sailing are Glenn Gault's J/120 REBECCA from Texas, Adam Esselman's J/124 STILL MESSIN from Michigan and David Alldian's J/95 CYMOPOLEIA from New Jersey.

REMINDER! NOTE TO SELF- be sure to enter NOW (no cost obligation) if you believe that you will be racing with us next January 2013 – here are the links to the online entry and the current entry list – it is easy to do and the entry fee is not due until later in December. To enter Key Race Race Week, please click hereJ/Sailing News

The Sun Never Sets on J's Sailing Worldwide

This past week in October was seemingly "North American Championship" weekend in America. The J/105s fielded a very strong cadre of sailors to compete for their North Americans off the warm, sunny shores of San Diego, California and hosted by the renowned San Diego YC-- BTW, the weather was anything but Chamber of Commerce conditions (Hurricane Paul was not helping matters in this department)! Unlike their J/105 colleagues out West, the J/30s had a rollicking great time on Lake Ponchartrain sailing in spectacular conditions and, most importantly, enjoying some of the amazing hospitality offered up by New Orleans' French Quarter and the Southern YC. Even further East up the coast, the J/80s also had high-quality competition for their J/80 East Coast Championships held by Eastport YC in Annapolis, Maryland. Then a bit further north, the Manhasset YC completed what many believe had to be one of the most stunning Manhasset Fall Series in recent memory- great breeze, sunny, and not what the J/105s saw in San Diego! And, speaking of stunning conditions, the often chilly, damp Garmin Hamble Winter Series were graced by yet another by-product of global warming, a gorgeous weekend of sailing to complete the Big Boat Championship as well as complete another round in the on-going Winter Series! Finally, have fun reading in the J/Community section a bit more about the J/122's escapades as a great all-around cruiser-racer-- a group of Aussies along with the Australian J/Dealer- YachtSpot- may have just completed the longest "new boat" delivery ever to her new owner!

Read on! The J/Community and Cruising section below has many entertaining stories and news about J/Sailors as well as cruising blogs about those who continue to enjoy the Caribbean and the South Pacific, staying warm while others are trying to stay warm up north. Check them out! More importantly, if you have more J/Regatta News, please email it orupload onto our J/Boats Facebook page! Below are the summaries.

For additional J/Regatta and Event dates in your region, please refer to the on-line J/Sailing Calendar.MASQUERADE Wins J/105 NA's
(San Diego, CA)- The action promised to be fast, furious, fun and challenging. And it was. That's San Diego sailing for you in the fall as California transitions from "dry/earthquake/fire" summer season to "wet/earthquake/mudslide" fall/winter season. As expected, the fleet of 25 boats provided incredibly competitive racing. The conditions were certainly challenging and nowhere near what many of the locals were expecting; especially since Hurricane Paul to the south passed over Mexico's Cabo San Lucas and simply wrecked havoc on the weather forecasts. In the end, Chris Perkins led his MASQUERADE team to victory at the J/105 North American Championship with the remarkably consistent scoreline of 1-2-2-1-3-2-4-4-4 for 23 total points. Not even local legends like Dennis Conner and Chuck Driscoll could match their wizardry and speed across the race course.

The weather conditions across the four days played a major role in upsetting the proverbial "apple cart" for many of the local San Diego teams. They're generally accustomed to reasonably steady sea-breezes that fill in by midday from the WNW, pulled in and around Point Loma and across the crescent-shaped beaches along the San Diego waterfront by the mountain range to the ESE across south-eastern San Diego and northern Tijuana, Mexico-- the local sailors would only see one day of anywhere near those conditions on the second day of the regatta. As it was, Hurricane Paul had a massive influence on Day one- Thursday- with the remnants of Paul kicking up a nasty 4-7 ft SSW swell with chop on top with winds from the SSE to SSW. It was windy, rainy, misty in the morning with 20-25 kts winds at 8 am subsiding to 10-15 kts for the first start at 1130 am. By the 2nd start the wind dropped to 4-8 kts and, ultimately, the wind died at end of second race and went variable. By Friday, the forecast breeze filled in as a wind-line from N-NW and blew 6-13 kts with a light SW swell and light chop on top-- a beautiful day for sailing with tactical shift and wind-lanes forming all day long. Saturday saw SSW breezes at 6-12 kts with light SW swell and light chop, just a grey day with few rays of sunshine anywhere. For "Championship Sunday", dawn was grey again and the forecasted low trough offshore swung in affecting both races with rain, mist and sunshine all rolled into one! Breezes were SSW going to WNW 5-13 kts with confused seas- SW and NW swell with chop on top.

The first day of sailing proved to be a prophetic one. Chris Perkins sailed MASQUERADE to the top of the leader-board with a first in the first race and a second in the second race for just 3 points on the day. Gary Mozer's CURRENT OBSESSION 2 stood in second place with 8 points, and new J/105 owner Dennis Conner on DC's PHOLLY was one point back at 9 points. Trailing MASQUERADE in Race 1 was Conner's DC's PHOLLY and Mozer's CO2. In Race 2, Steve Howell's BLINK! took top honors, followed by Perkin's MASQUERADE and Bruce Stone's ARBITRAGE.

On the second day, three races were held and it was in these conditions that Perkins' team on MASQUERADE began to establish a strong lead over the fleet with an impressive tally of 1-2-2-1-3 for just 9 pts overall. Mozer's CO2 maintained his second-place spot with 23 points. Tom Fisher and Joe Dagostino on VIGGEN put together a consistent regatta with all top-six tallies for 26 points. In the day's first contest, Rick Goebel's SANITY took top honors, with Perkins on MASQUERADE in second and Dennis Case's WINGS in third. MASQUERADE ran away with the next race, trailed by Case's WINGS and Chuck Driscoll and Tom Hurlburt on BLOW BOAT. In the day's final battle, Mozer's CO2 claimed first, with BLOW BOAT and MASQUERADE behind them.

The third day saw MASQUERADE hold onto their lead with a 15-point advantage over second-place Gary Mozer's CO2. However, a tight battle was brewing over the next three places with Bruce Stone's ARBITRAGE in third with 41 points, trailed closely by Dennis Conner's DC's PHOLLY at 42 points and Chuck Driscoll and Tom Hurlburt's BLOW BOAT at 45 points. In Saturday's first race, DC's PHOLLY won, with MASQUERADE in second and ARBITRAGE in third. In the day's other contest, the BLOW BOAT snared the victory, followed by CO2 and DC's PHOLLY.

For the fourth and final day, all the MASQUERADE team had to do was stay out of trouble and finish both races in the top eight, presuming even their closest competitor won both races. In fact, compared to the previous three days racing, perhaps Sunday's racing was one of the most difficult to avoid any major pitfalls. In the end, the MASQUERADE team proved yet again they were not to be denied, scoring a 4-4 to close out the regatta with 23 pts. The team consisted of Perkins, Steve Marsh, Tom Purdy, Mark Chandler, Larry Swift and Rose Eberhard. This triumph marks MASQUERADE's third North American Championship, after winning in 2006 and 2007 with Tom Coates. Perkins, Marsh and Chandler were part of those crews. Perkins praised MASQUERADE (hull #17) and the teams' familiarity with it. "We know this boat intimately. It's well prepared in its set-up with a nice new set of North Sails," he stated. He also applauded his crew for their flawless efforts, saying "There were no crew mistakes, despite the fact that we're all very busy and we had little practice. That's where luck comes in sometimes." It was easy to notice that MASQUERADE quickly launched to the front of the 25-boat fleet at the starts. "We had consistent starts where we got the nose out and didn't have to play ping pong," Perkins explained. "Some regattas go your way, and this one did for us. We were in the right place for the shifts."

The J/105 Fall Series Chairman, Jeff Brown, commented: "we're very proud of our San Diego YC and the host team. We had a great regatta on the water and off! We had over 70 volunteers from in and outside the Yacht Club who helped run events! As they say it "takes an army" and a great one we did have. With Joanne O'Dea as our Coordinator, she was largely responsible for making sure everyone was doing what they had signed up to do! We had several very successful social events that literally took over the entire Yacht Club and involved the club membership and over 400 sailors and families participating in the regatta. Julie Servais was the Chair of the very popular "Taste of Point Loma" that saw over 17 local Restaurants and wineries and brewer's participate with samples of their delicious food and drink. The club was transformed with lounging areas and jazz bands and everyone had a great time. The other big social event was run by Marnie Buddo, she had a wonderful "Beach Luau" with a great band and a wonderful California Beach lifestyle party with "The Blonde Brothers Band". One of the highlights of entire regatta was her "Yolo Paddle Board Competition" that allowed all sailors to compete right in front of SDYC's Front Dock in a course that challenged the best and worst paddle borders in attendance! The winner won a custom surfboard that matched the North Americas Champions take home trophy! Finally, we had great help from the following volunteers: Chris and Julie Howell- J/105 Class Officials, Marilyn Foster- SDYC Jury/Protest, Jim Person/Bruce Green- PROs, Joe Colling- Class Racing Official, Lynnlee Slater- Green Regatta, Carolann Dekker- Merchandise, Jon Dekker- Measurement, Karen Brown- Budget, Jeff Johnson/Jared Wohlgemuth- Racing Office, Amy Snyder- Catering, Chuck Driscoll- Charter, Jackie Kohls- SDYC Staff, Joni Geis- Sponsorship and all of our Great Sponsors." Sailing Photo credits- by Bronny Daniels/ JoySailing.comSailing photo credits- by Outside Images/ Bob GrieserSan Diego YC sailing photo credits- Cynthia Sinclair & Bob Bentancourt For more J/105 North American Championship sailing informationJALAPENO Wins J/30 NA's
(New Orleans, LA)- No question, Team JALAPENO delivered the heat on their fellow J/30 compatriots over the long weekend sailing down in New Orleans. Congratulations to Billy Ross and Ken Buhler's JALAPENO who won the J/30 North American Championships last weekend in New Orleans! The team raced an excellent regatta to claim the 2012 title with three bullets and 15 points in seven races over a tough eleven boat fleet that came from across the country to vie for "Top Dog" in the J/30 class. For many, the regatta started a long, long time before the final gun sounded on the last race on Sunday at the famous Allstate Sugar Bowl Regatta that played host to the J/30 North Americans.

At 6:00am on Monday morning, Dan Mather and his crew on CRUSADER departed from Oswego, NY and started a 1,300 mile journey to New Orleans. On the same day, Russ Atkinson and his beloved WILDCAT set his GPS to guide him to New Orleans from Rockwood, MI – another 1,041 mile trip. So what is the occasion? Both trailered their J/30s to race in the 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl J/30 National Championship hosted by New Orleans Yacht Club on October 19-21.

According to Barton Jahncke, Olympic Gold Medal winner and multiple Sugar Bowl Trophy winner, “The Sugar Bowl Regatta Series is recognized as one of the premier national yachting events in the United States. It gives sailors or all ages, from the Optimist class through high school and intercollegiate levels and beyond, the opportunity to learn how to compete at a very high level.”

This year’s J/30 National Championship was the 32nd in the history of the sailing class. Two teams, ZEPHYR (New Orleans) and BEPOP (Annapolis) share the record of number of wins at 5 each. US Olympic boat-wright Donnie Brennan with son Andrew sailed with the ZEPHYR crew this year. And, two J/30s were skippered by women, Debbie Grimm aboard HOT CHOCOLATE and Laura Webb sailing BLACK MAGIC. Cool, eh? Girl power to the max! Plus, the J/30 is a family-friendly sloop, which can be raced or cruised by women, kids and men offshore in even the roughest conditions. Remember the disastrous 1979 Fastnet Race- a.k.a Fastnet Force 10? Two J/30s sailed through it unscathed (one singlehanded!) while many other sailors were much less fortunate.

Many think of New Orleans as a French Quarter venue with a lot of historic value. However, there is another jewel in town- it's called Lake Pontchartrain. “Sailing is more than a sport”, according to the event’s key note speaker, Nicholas Hayes, author of award winning book “Saving Sailing”. It is a life choice. Today, there are about 2,000 New Orleanians participating in sailing on the lake today – enough to attract National and International sailing events to the city. “With shifty winds and obstruction clear waters, our sailing venue is one of the best in the nation,” according to David Erwin, Allstate Sugar Bowl Regatta Chairman. Indeed, it was.

This year's J/30 NA's proved to fun, gorgeous, sunny, somewhat windy with lots of challenging races. Rolled into the mix between sailing time were many crews enjoying the great entertainment and food in the infamous French Quarter and Bourbon Street on-shore.

On the first day of sailing, Team JALAPENO established the pecking order early by winning the first race of the regatta. It was not until the 6th race of the regatta where JALAPENO pulled ahead of their closest rival ZEPHYR 2.0 sailed by Dale Steinkamp from local host New Orleans YC; while JALAPENO scored 5th, the ZEPHYR gang were hit with a DSQ/ 12 pts to dash their chances at an overall win. In the end, the Ross/Buhler team on JALAPENO amassed a 1-3-2-1-1-5-2 for 15 pts for a well-deserved victory. Second was another Pontchartrain YC member, David Bolyard Jr sailing LAND SHARK to two 1sts in the last two races to cement their position with finishes of 2-2-4-7-3-1-1 for 25 pts. The ZEPHYR 2.0 crew settled for 3rd overall with a 3-1-1-3-2-dsq/12-3 tally for 25 pts. Fourth was Carl Sherter's FAT CITY from Connecticut's Cedar Point YC with 28 pts and fifth was Rob Doolittle/ Jeff Walter's GRTIZ with 37 pts. For a J/30 NA's sailing video by Leighton O'ConnorSailing Photos by Leighton O'Connor For more J/30 North Americans sailing informationStunning Solent SailingJ/122 Leading IRC0, J/97 Leads IRC3, JITTERBUG Tops 111s, JAGERBOMB Tops 109s
(Hamble, England)- As fall sailing continues unabated in the south of England, cooler air is beginning to make its presence felt on the Solent. However, this past weekend saw the weather Gods provide another stunner for the sailing teams in the Garmin Hamble Winter Series and MDL Hamble Big Boat Series.

Big Boat Championship
Saturday saw the start of the final MDL Hamble Big Boat Championship weekend. The forecast was appalling, with a mirror calm greeting the race committee as they motored out to the race course, and no-one really expected to get any racing in. But competitors couldn’t believe their luck as 4-5 knots of southeasterly filled in after an hour’s postponement, allowing the race team to get four races in from a start-line near Wight Vodka.

On Sunday, a good NorthEasterly 10-15 knots was forecast, and, unlike Saturday, that was exactly what the weather gods served up. Racing started from the vicinity of Sunsail Racing buoy at low tide, with courses cascading down the East Solent in a sluicing flood tide. The MDL Hamble Big Boat Championships fleet raced alongside the main Garmin Hamble Winter Series fleet, with two races for all classes.

In the J/111 class on Saturday, David & Kirsty Apthorp's J-DREAM won the first race, but couldn’t hold off Cornel Riklin’s JITTERBUG, who took first in the remaining three races. Then on Sunday, JITTERBUG took two seconds on Sunday, but that was enough to keep them nine points clear at the top of the fleet – an impressive showing for their first regatta. With JITTERBUG winning the Big Boat Championships, J-DREAM managed to hang in for second place overall with a 3-3 showing. Third was Alfred Munkenbeck's MUNKENBECK with 21 pts. Finally, it was good to see Tony Mack's crew closing out the series after a slow start by winning the last two races.

IN IRC 0, Neil Kipling's J/122 JOOPSTER continued her winning ways and stayed at the top of the leader board, closing out the regatta with a 1-2 on Sunday for a total of just 21 pts. Her classmate JAMMY DODGER, the J/133 sailed by Neil Martin managed a 5th in the very competitive class.

Garmin Hamble Winter Series
The Garmin Hamble Winter Series ran as usual on Sunday, this time from the same start-line as the Big Boats in ideal conditions. The day sponsor was Southern Ropes, who provided prizes at the clubhouse after racing. All classes sailed two races, with the smaller boats finishing on the Hill Head plateau, and the bigger boats finishing near Browndown.

In IRC Class 0, Dr Ivan Trotman's crew on the J/122 JOLOU are now leading their division with a 1-2-1-3-2 record for 9 pts. They are currently on top of a rogue's gallery of IRC special purpose boats like the Grand Soleil 46, Mills 43 and Arcona 430.

The IRC Class 3 saw the J/97 INDULJENCE sailed by Nick & Adam Munday tied on points for the lead with a 3-1-3-2 record for 9 pts.

The J/111s, whose results also counted for the MDL Hamble Big Boat Championships, were led by Tony Mack’s McFly, who took two bullets ahead of JITTERBUG. Consequently, JITTERBUG is still leading with 9 pts followed by J-DREAM then McFLY in third.

Similarly, Paul Griffiths’ JAGERBOMB posted two firsts in the J/109 class and is currently leading their class with a comfortable lead due to an impressive scoreline of 1-3-1-1-1 for 6 pts. Second lies David McLeman's OFFBEAT with a 4-1-2-6 record for 13 pts. Just one point back is Owain Franks' JYNNAN TONNYX with a 3-4-4-3 tally for 14 pts. The balance of the top five has Paul Coward's JACOBI in 4th and Roger Phillips' DESIGNSTAR 2 in 5th.

So, looking ahead, there’s one more weekend of racing before the mid-series break. Next weekend is the final Lewmar Hamble One Design Championship weekend, as well as the fourth Garmin Hamble Winter Series race day, for which the day sponsor is Andark. Sailing photo credits- Paul Wyeth For more Garmin Hamble Winter Series sailing informationSAVASANA Dominates J/80 East Coasts
(Annapolis, MD)- Eastport YC hosted the J/80 East Coast Championship over the October 13-14 weekend, providing a great seven-race series. The twenty-four boat fleet was deeply laden with talent as many boats were using the event as a warm-up for the J/80 North Americans being held Eagle Mountain Lake in Forth Worth, hosted by the Fort Worth Boat Club. In the end, top J/80 and J/105 sailor Brian Keane sailed SAVASANA to a solid series with scores of 1-2-4-1-3-1-2 for 14 pts to win the regatta 19 pts clear of the rest of the fleet. Brian's team was never really challenged for the lead as their erstwhile competitors could only muster short runs of races to even stay close.

Perhaps the biggest battle of the regatta took place for the balance of the podium in the silver and bronze spots. Vying for silver were John White, Will Crump, Bruno Pasquinelli, Daniel Wittig and Kirsten Robinson. All of their teams experienced quite the "roller-coaster" rides as they fought hard to stay in contention and avoid the one disastrous race. At the end of the day, everyone in this drop had a least one bad race, destroying any chance to even consider catching Keane's sharp sailing team on SAVASANA.

The last two races provided the deciding factor amongst these half-dozen boats. John White's crew managed to avoid some of the difficulties other teams had avoiding the nasty race, managing to hammer home a scoreline of 11-3-5-4-1-4-7 for a total of 35 pts to secure second overall. Third was Will Crump, demonstrating that his team could sail fast and smart at times with a scoreline of 2-8-16-9-2-2-1 for 40 pts. Fourth was Bruno Pasquinelli's team, they started strong and were vying for the lead, but faded hard towards the end, accumulating a 3-5-2-2-5-20-5 record for 42 pts. Fifth saw Daniel Witting finish with a flourish in the last two races, but not enough to overcome some bomber races earlier, tallying a 6-6-14-3-15-3-3 for a total of 50 pts.

Thanks must go to the sponsors, West Marine Rigging, Annapolis Sailing School, APS, SpinSheet, Bacons, Tom's Shoes & Sunglasses, Eastport YC, J World, and North Point Yacht Sales. Sailing photo credits- Tom Hasbrouck For more J/80 East Coast Championship sailing resultsSpectacular Sailing- Manhasset SeriesJ/105s and PHRF J/Sailors Love Sunny Conditions
(Manhasset, New York)- In its 34th year, 2012 featured terrific competition on the Sound and Manhasset Bay. Great weather on all four days, an unusual bonus. PRO Sue Miller even commented that she enjoyed only wearing a fleece on just one of the four days! MBFS is fortunate to attract the best sailors in the region, year after year, and the Club is honored to have received complimentary remarks from many racers about the job well done by our RC.

The weather was atypical but the competition was not. Sunny and warm conditions for all four days of racing were a bonus to the racers.

IRC Class saw the custom J/120 AVRA sailed by George Petrides from American YC sail to an excellent record of 2-1-2-1-1-4-4-4-3 for 18 pts to secure 2nd overall. Third in class was the gorgeous J/122 GEORGETOWN III sailed George Marks with a 1-4-3-3-2-2-3-2-4 for 20 pts.

PHRF A had the largest handicap class with eleven boats and the J/111 ANDIAMO sailed by Paul Strauch sailing for the host Manhasset Bay YC managed to finish 3rd overall with a 3-1-(12/DNF)-2-2.5-7-5-7 score for 27.5 pts. Fellow member Bob Schwartz sailed his J/109 NORDLYS to 8th in class and also Jon Flamm sailed his classic racer-cruiser, the J/37 SOUND WAVE to 10th in class.

In PHRF B, John & Tony Esposito’s J/29 HUSTLER won by a slight edge over UNO MAS, Ryan Walsh & Jon Desmond’s J/29 which travelled down from New Bedford YC. UNO MAS nearly pulled off what many thought was impossible, beating the HUSTLER boys in their home waters. Going into the second weekend, both boats were tied on points and record with 1-2-2-3, but having won the last race the weekend before, UNO MAS was technically in 1st place. However, the old adage seemed to kick-in for the last weekend, "when the going get tough, the HUSTLER gets going"! Sure enough, ripping off a 1-1-2-2 cemented the Esposito's imperial seat atop the podium with 11 pts. Ryan and Jon on UNO MAS gave it their all, but in face of the furious pace and intensity of the HUSTLER gang, could only managed a 2-3-3-1 to close out the regatta in second with 14 pts. As a result, the Ted Clark Trophy was won for the 6th year in a row by HUSTLER, John & Tony Esposito, Morris Yacht & Beach Club/City Island YC for best performance in PHRF. Also sailing in this tough division was Todd Aven's J/92 THIN MAN, managing a 4th behind these crazy hombres.

The prestigious John B. Thomson Sr. Memorial Trophy was won by the J/105 KINCSEM, Joerg Esdorn/Duncan Hennes, NYYC/American YC for the best performance in a One-Design or IRC class. With nine boats participating, the J/105 class enjoyed some great racing. Capturing three firsts and three seconds, Kincsem sailed to a dominating eight point win over arch-rival Eclipse in the Manhasset Bay Fall Series. The regatta featured eight races, including one distance race, on Long Island Sound over two beautiful October weekends. Kincsem also won the event in 2011; Eclipse was the winner in 2010.

Even with victory in the series assured, the Joerg Esdorn and Duncan Hennes team seemed especially determined to take the final race. They turned the bow of their green boat into the breeze for multiple wind-checks, snugged the halyard on the jib in the freshening breeze, generally sailed around with much seriousness of purpose, and carved their favorite path through the fleet to line up for a start just a few boat lengths down from the committee boat. For a moment, we even thought we saw tactician Fred Walters jot something down.

As the gun sounded, the usual cluster trying to grab the one good spot at the boat end all slowed each other as Kincsem shot off the line for a nice lead. From there, all the Kincsem team had to do was stay in clear air, get the chute up and down cleanly, and cover the fleet. All went fine until the second beat, when the covering part became difficult. Boats trailing Kincsem split left and right in an oscillating breeze. What to do? Answer: Stay in the middle, hit the shifts and try to cover both sides. It worked, but Joerg-Duncan-Fred couldn’t have called it any closer. (This writer is actually not 100% sure Walters was on the boat. Kincsem was too far behind in the first race and too far ahead in the second. If Fred wasn’t, his spirit surely was.)

As Kincsem reached the top mark on the second beat, Paul Beaudin’s loulou came barreling in on a lift from the left and tacked just below and ahead of Kincsem at the mark. Except…..oops….loulou couldn’t squeeze by the orange. Kincsem was just short of layline, too. But it had rights. So it trapped loulou and forced Beaudin’s boat to sail just slightly beyond the mark. (Much shouting could be heard down the weather leg.) Kincsem then did a quick double tack and rounded. At that point, it was adios, sayonara , and ciao to loulou and the rest of the fleet. And one last notch in Kincsem’s gunbelt.

Damian Emery’s Eclipse finished second in the regatta despite failing to win a single race. It’s a bit unusual for Emery not to win at least won race in an event (though he didn’t win any races in the MFS in 2011, either), but that outcome also may say something about the competitiveness of the Manhasset fleet. The race winnings got spread around nicely and included third place Revelation, fourth place Gumption, fifth place Planet Claire (YEA!) and sixth place Peregrina (which built up a huge lead on race one on Sunday by hitting the left corner hard on the first beat).

Revelation, owned by George and Alex Wilbanks, actually won two races in the series and looked poised to challenge Kincsem. But the Wilbanks’s had trouble getting clean starts in the last three races and had to settle for finishes of 6-5-7, dropping them into a points tie with Kevin Grainger’s Gumption3, which went 2-7-3 in the final three races.

The battle for fifth place between John Koten’s Planet Claire and Josh Burak’s Peregrina also came down to the last leg, with Planet Claire just managing to cover Peregrina down the course on the final leg of the final race of the final day of the final weekend of the final regatta of the season. Sailing photo credits- www.manhassetbayyc.org For more Manhasset Bay Fall Series sailing informationJ/Community

What friends, alumni and crew of J/Boats are doing worldwide

* J/Fest Vimeo on Bayside Buzz! During last weekends J/Fest Regatta sailed on Galveston Bay off Houston, Texas, Roy Shaw took out his chase boat along with a video crew to capture some choice moments of sailing amongst the various one-design and PHRF fleets sailing in J/Fest. Some really amusing and even instructional sequences of various J/22s, J/24s, J/70s, J/80s and others rounding marks, setting chutes, going fast and amazing demonstrations of how NOT to take down a spinnaker! Here are the offshore video highlights, thanks to production services by Mobile Studio Technologies LLC. Again, special thanks to Roy Shaw for providing and driving the chase boat. https://vimeo.com/channels/thebaysidebuzz

* J/122's Growing Popular in South Pacific! Longest New Owner Delivery Ever? Yachtspot Goes the Extra Mile- 1,928nm to be Exact!

And now there are four in the greater South Pacific Basin. Indeed, it's hard to not love the J/122s remarkable versatility. Cruiser, holiday weekender, family day racer, offshore champion! While the J/122s have enjoyed remarkable offshore racing success both in the Americas (Great Lakes, Florida, Northeast and Pacific) and in Europe (France, England, Italy, Malta), it has been growing in popularity in Australia and the "Little Tigers" just north of Australia. With the new J/122 JOSS being delivered by Sandra & Ray Entwistle with her new owner- "Ian"- to Port Moresby, Papua, New Guinea, it will be exciting to watch them enjoy their new boat in the future. Here's the story that was passed along by Ray about their experience:

"It all started when a group of friends met up on for a sail on a J/122 called ‘Marta Jean’ in Newcastle, and the J/Boat bug hooked Ian immediately.

The new owner is currently based in Papua New Guinea so this J/122 was going to travel some serious distances just to be delivered. PNG lies north of Australia and doesn’t have the facilities to commission new yachts, so the J/122 needed to be put together and fitted out in Sydney and sailed nearly 2000nm up and over the east coast of Australia.

Joss is equipped with twin plotters, the 12 inch Simrad in the cockpit accommodated within custom s/s binnacle and a 8 inch B&G grib in the nav station, B&G radar and pole mounted port side aft, further custom s/s and canvas work to add a bimini frame essential for the climate in Joss’s final destination. Other electronics included twin VHF handsets, Icom HF radio and Fusion stereo, Simrad autopilot, twin water tanks, dodger and many other features.

The J/122 was shipped from J/Composites France, and met by Yachtspot at 4 am in Sydney in early August.

The commissioning went like a dream at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club where Yachtspot has commissioned many new boats recently. Two days later the keel and rudder was on, then soon after epoxy and antifoul applied. After standing for a few days to allow the paint to fully cure, the J/122 was christened ‘Joss’ and launched. Later the same day the mast was fitted and dockside tuned, the day after the impressive sail wardrobe by Ian Short Sails arrived and a quick test sail to ensure all was well. The B&G Triton instruments were fitted and other electronics took 5 days to wire in and check. Custom s/s and canvas work completed and the artwork for Joss applied c/w Chinese symbol complimenting the name and meaning Good Luck.

It was soon time to set sail and take Joss to her proud owner - destination Royal Papua Yacht Club, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The NSW weather system was also beginning show signs of veering north after the predominant winter southerly and westerly winds.

Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club presented Ray Entwistle from Yachtspot with a club burgee for Ian, as he is the Commodore of Royal Papua Yacht Club. Ian had done the same on his recent visit to the famous Pittwater Club when seeing his J/122 “Joss” during commissioning.

The first shake down sail was a mere 70 miles up the coast to Newcastle. Ray & Sandra of Yachtspot joined by long term sailing friends and experienced cruising sailors Dave & Sue. The easy day sail to Newcastle was a great shake-down sail and offered the opportunity to have some canvas work details finished off by East Coast Marine. Sue then returned to Sydney to man the Yachtspot office, while Steve (fellow J/122 owner of “Marta Jean”) joined the crew.

The time pressure was on to exit the NSW weather system before the northerly winds started. The next leg of the journey was 190 nm to Coffs Harbour. Leaving on the 3rd Sept and arriving at 1730 on the next day, Joss was sailing well with good boat speed. Whales were abundant as they frolicked in their migration south, and the crew spotted over 30 in the day and took avoiding action 3-4 times. However the last 25 miles approaching Coffs Harbour a strong Nor’wester began to form, Joss was beating with full mainsail and a # 4 jib. It was good to get into Coffs before the full force of the 35 knot + nor’wester began to dominate the weather system. The following days saw cruising and racing boats pull into Coffs returning from the famous Hamilton Island race week, even though they were heading south many crews were exhausted, the high winds and 4 meter seas were taking their toll on the crews and their boats.

For four days the 35 knot nor’westers howled through Coffs marina, and though it was frustrating, it gave us plenty of time make ourselves familiar with the impressive instrument package chosen by the owner.

On Saturday 8th Sept the strong northerlies abated and we let go the mooring lines and were off like a shot, very light winds so running in the engine gently during the morning was the best way forward. Our destination was Rosslyn Bay near Rockhampton (648nm). By evening we celebrated with a glass of red with dinner as Cape Byron was abeam, Australia’s most easterly point, and we were exiting the NSW weather system and heading for more favourable SE winds. Another days sailing and Joss and her crew were approaching the largest sand Island in the world, Fraser Island. No time to enjoy the views and tricky navigation of the ‘inside passage’ as we approached the 66 mile long island at dusk and therefore gave it a wide berth. We were making good speeds 11 + knots with the code 0, but dropped it for the night. The next morning Fraser was well in the rear-view mirror, Joss once again making superb progress. On the 11th Sept @ 0815 Joss tied up in the marina at Rosslyn Bay having covered the distance in 3 days.

Rosslyn Bay was chosen because of its “on the way” seaward location and a good place to call in. It was also time for a crew change, with Steve and Dave both leaving Joss to attend to other duties.

Craig & Derek friends of Joss’s owner, joined the boat and after re-supplying and making sure the departing crews flights were secured, Joss set sail again, destination Cairns, 630nm miles further north. Craig and Derrick settled in immediately and was a great asset to the team. Both thoroughly enjoying the comfort, speed, and ease of sailing this thoroughbred yacht has to offer. This leg took us through the famous Whitsunday Passage, within the protection of the Great Barrier Reef, one of the ‘seven wonders of the world’. It was very tempting to call in at the many islands in one of the best cruising grounds in the world, but the inclement weather in Coffs Harbour had cost us time. The crew only had the opportunity to view the many sandy beaches and turquoise blue bays through the binoculars, wistfully thinking about the cocktails they could have been drinking at the island resorts.

Three days later, after dodging the dozen or more freighters making the tide to enter Mackay and using the large green 155 mtr running spinnaker, Joss arrived in Cairns early in the morning with yet another beautiful Queensland sunrise, having covered the 630 miles in 3 days.

After a good rest and some local sightseeing whilst re-provisioning, “Joss” left Cairns on the final leg to Port Moresby, 500 miles of open ocean lay ahead. Joss motored out of the long Cairns channel markers, toward Trinity Passage and into deep water, then set the sails in the gentle south easterly. The wind slowly built to 15 knots and the miles ticked away. The next day the sou’easter had built to over 20 knots. Joss was starting to build speed and occasionally track into the low teens. On the last day the wind was gusting into the mid 20s and Joss with a reefed mainsail and #1 Jib was starting to hit 14 knots going down the waves. The memorable part of this leg, was that we were on starboard tack the whole time. The winds were consistently South East and we were heading basically due north. We didn’t see another ship (or whale) for the entire leg, and it turned out to be the easiest leg of the whole journey. Before we knew it, it was late afternoon and we were in mobile phone contact with Ian the owner on the PNG mainland. We tried our best to make landfall in daylight as we knew the entrance was tricky. Despite the great sailing we took the sails down early and concentrated on entering Port Moresby under engine power slowly and accurately. There were many reefs to negotiate and the nav lights were blending into the bright city lights in the background.

At 8pm ‘Joss’ made her final destination and we tied up at Royal Papua Yacht Club. What a joy it was to meet the owner Ian (and his jubilant welcoming party) and hand over his beautiful J/122 ‘Joss’, which had delivered us safely and quickly over the 1,928nm journey.

The J Cruising Community J Cruisers continue their adventures around the world, below are a selection of most excellent "blogs" written by their prolific publishers. Some terribly amusing anecdotes and pearls of wisdom are contained in their blogs. Read some! You'll love it.

* The J/42 JARANA continues their epic voyage around the Pacific. Continue to read about Bill and Kathy Cuffel's big adventure cruising the South Pacific headed for New Zealand. Their blog is here: http://www.svjarana.blogspot.com/

* Prolific writers, Bill and Judy Stellin, sailed their J/42 JAYWALKER around the Mediterranean and Europe and back across the Atlantic for nearly three years. Their blogs/journals can be found at- http://blog.mailasail.com/jaywalker. The earlier journals have been compiled into two self published books which can be found at: http://www.blurb.com. Search for "SEATREK: A Passion for Sailing" by Bill Stellin or William Stellin." UPDATE- Just a short note to update from Bill- "Our cruise began in May of 2000 and ended in May of 2008, some 8 years later. I have just finished and published my third and final book covering the last three or so years including our double handed crossing in 16 days and one winter in the Caribbean. Like the others, "Sea Trek- A Passion for sailing- Book III," can be found at www.blurb.com. Thanks, Bill and Judy"

* John and Mary Driver are sailing their J/130 SHAZAM for extended cruising in the Atlantic basin. At this time, John and Mary finished their double-handed crossing of the Atlantic, landing in Portugal on their J/130 Shazam after completion of their ARC Rally. Read the latest news at http://www.sailblogs.com/member/shazam/.

* Several J/160 owners are island hopping across the world's oceans, fulfilling life long dreams to cruise the Pacific islands, the Caribbean islands, the Indian Ocean and all points in between. Anyone for Cape Horn and penguins?? Read more about their adventures and escapades (like our J/109 GAIA, J/42s PAX and JAYWALKER and J/130 SHAZAM friends above).

- SALACIA, the J/160 owned by Stephen and Cyndy Everett has an on-going blog describing some of their more amusing experiences (http://www.salacia1.blogspot.com).

- Bill and Susan Grun on the J/160 AVANTE are also sailing in the Pacific archipelago, read more about their great adventures on their blog (http://web.me.com/susangrun). Read about their latest adventures as they've gotten to New Zealand- "Avante Cruises the Pacific".

- Eric and Jenn on the J/160 MANDALAY also sailed the Pacific archipelago, read more on their blog at http://www.sailmandalay.com. Eric and Jenn are J/World alumni took MANDALAY up and down the West Coast (Mexico, CA), then to the South Pacific and New Zealand. MANDALAY is back in San Francisco now, and in the J/World fleet--she is available for skippered charters, private instruction, and corporate/executive groups.

* The J/109 GAIA (seen right in the Java Sea) was sailed by Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay around the world. In February 2011, their cruising adventures came to an abrupt, sad ending. As a tribute to them and their cruising friends worldwide, we hope their chronicles on their GAIA website remains a tribute to their warm-hearted spirits- read more about why many loved them dearly and will remain touched by their loving spirit forever-http://www.gaiaworldtour.net/Featured Boat

J/122 GAMBLER For Sale

GAMBLER is a 2008 J/122 that is ready to continue winning races, or go cruising! If you are looking for a 40' dual purpose sailboat, GAMBLER can do it all! There are very few J/122's with the winning pedigree that GAMBLER has and even fewer with the 3 cabin layout. GAMBLER has been optimized for racing with top notch bottom and foil preparation, she's a past J/122 North American Champion. The sail inventory is all North and includes NEW 3Di sails!